The present invention relates generally to the field of customized services, and more specifically to the problems of creating, testing, validating, and provisioning customized telecommunication services.
The set of incorporated patent applications describe a system and method for creating and executing customized telecommunication services tailored to subscribers' or customers' needs. The system of the set of incorporated patent applications includes a service creation environment for creating customized telephone services and a service execution environment for executing the telephone services. The service creation environment includes a graphical user interface which permits a user to build and/or change a displayed graphical representation of a desired service using "nodes," "decision boxes," and "branches." Each node represents a high level instruction for the execution of the service. The displayed graphical representation of the service is translated to a binary representation and stored as a call processing record (CPR). CPRs are transmitted from a creation environment to an execution environment where they are executed during call processing operations to send call processing instructions to inquiring switches.
The system and method for creating and executing customized telephone services described in the set of incorporated patent applications are described as being implemented in the Advanced Intelligent Telephone Network (AIN).
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary AIN comprising System Service Points (SSPs) 30, 35, 40, and 45, Signal Transfer Points (STPs) 48 and 50, Service Control Points (SCPs) 10 and 20, and Service Management Systems (SMS) 60 (only one shown). SSPs are central office switching systems which receive telephone calls from telephones 12. Each SSP recognizes a variety of "triggers" within customer telephone call signals and generates queries to SCPs based on the triggers. The SSPs then process customer calls in response to commands received from the SCPs.
The SCPs communicate with the SSPs over a common-channel-signalling (CCS) network 67 that includes STPs 48 and 50. The CCS network 67 employs communication channels separate from channels used to transport customer voice signals and includes a packet-switching system. The CCS network 67 switches data in packets instead of allocating circuits for the duration of a call. The STPs 48 and 50 provide the packet-switching functions.
Each SCP is fault tolerant because each SCP includes processors connected through dual local-area networks (not shown). If one processor of an SCP fails, another processor of the SCP can ensure that the SCP continues to function. Further, SCPs are configured as a mutually mated pair in different locations. If an SCP, such as SCP 10, is disabled, its mate, SCP 20, can ensure that telephone service continues without interruption.
Associated with each SCP or each pair of SCPs is an SMS 60. An SMS 60 provides a support interface through which customer data and service logic can be added or managed.
The incorporated patent applications also disclose techniques for testing and validating CPRs that have been created at a creation environment. Testing of a CPR provides a visual indication on a displayed graphical representation (graph) of the CPR of the execution path taken through the CPR during a call processing operation. The visual indication is described in one embodiment as a red line trace of the paths connecting the nodes of a displayed graph. Validating a CPR involves detecting logical infractions in the processing routine of the CPR and identifying these infractions to an operator based on a set of rules and a knowledge base understood by an expert system.
The incorporated patent applications describe a CPR as comprising a "key" and a plurality of nodes, decision boxes, and branches. The "key" includes a telephone number and a suffix. The suffix .e04 means that the CPR controls calls made from the corresponding telephone number, and the .e05 suffix means that the CPR controls calls made to the corresponding telephone number. Hence, to provide separate services for calls made to or from a subscriber's telephone number, the set of incorporated patent applications requires separate CPRs.
Requiring multiple CPRs per customer in a system having many customers strains the storage and execution environments with tremendous amounts of service logic. Moreover, it complicates and hinders efficient service execution and management.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a CPR structure that permits efficient use of CPRs on a large scale in an execution environment.
It is also desirable to provide a CPR structure which includes all desired services of a customer on a single CPR.
It is also desirable to provide a CPR structure that permits quick and efficient storage, access, management, and execution of CPRs.
It is further desirable to define a CPR structure which permits the effective and efficient communication of CPRs between a service creation environment and a service execution environment.
Additional desires of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.